Step aimed at speedy disposal of files, public grievances
Thrust laid on holding meetings through video-conference
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, May 29: Taking serious note of unwarranted absence of the senior bureaucrats from the Civil Secretariat Srinagar, Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam has directed the Administrative Secretaries of all the departments to immediately shun the practice of conducting ‘needless’ tours to Jammu on weekends so that there is no delay in disposal of official files and listening/redressing the grievances of the public.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that during numerous meetings with the Administrative Secretaries of all the departments convened till date the Chief Secretary repeatedly laid thrust on their presence in the Civil Secretariat on all working days except during the days of tours to the districts to review the status of the projects and schemes being implemented by their respective departments.
Such instructions were also reiterated in almost all the meetings of the Committee of Secretaries convened by BVR Subrahmanyam ever since he took over as Chief Secretary of the State. But several Administrative Secretaries have yet not started showing strict compliance to these directives and they are invariably leaving the Civil Secretariat on the weekends on the pretext of holding meetings in Jammu.
This has been viewed seriously by the Chief Secretary, who has now come up with the written instructions in this regard and the copies of the same have been forwarded to all the Administrative Secretaries.
“After six months of functioning in Jammu, which was the State Capital from November 2018 to April 2019, the State Capital has shifted to Srinagar with effect from May 6, 2019. It is the duty of all Move Officers to now function in Srinagar. Further, it is also the duty of the Secretariat Officers to be present in the Secretariat in Srinagar”, read the communication of the Chief Secretary.
The letter, the copy of which is available with EXCELSIOR, further reads: “It is coming to my notice that a few officers are going to Jammu particularly close to a weekend by fixing meeting(s) there on Friday or Monday and staying there over the weekend”.
“I would like to instruct all the Administrative Secretaries to desist from holding such meetings in Jammu on Friday or Monday as far as possible. In case, there is a need to hold a meeting on Jammu related matters, these could be attempted through video-conference”, the Chief Secretary said, adding “meetings in Jammu could be convened by an Administrative Secretary only in case there is no other alternative and that too only on Tuesday/Wednesday/ Thursday”.
He has asked all the Administrative Secretaries to strictly comply with these instructions. “These instructions will also be applicable when the Darbar will reopen in Jammu later this year to curb the practice of weekend tours by the Administrative Secretaries to Srinagar”, sources said.
According to the sources, the Chief Secretary has also directed all the Administrative Secretaries to fix two hours each day for listening public grievances in the Secretariat and accordingly take steps in a time bound manner for the redressal of the same.
“If the Administrative Secretaries remain out of the Secretariat for two-three days on the pretext of holding meetings in Jammu then public will be deprived of mechanism evolved by the Chief Secretary for listening and redressing their grievances”, sources further said, adding “moreover as a routine the Chief Secretary holds interaction with the Administrative Secretaries on every Monday to discuss and resolve governance related issues as such their availability in the Secretariat becomes imperative”.
Moreover, availability of the Administrative Secretaries in the Secretariat except in the cases when there is no other alternative for holding urgent meetings in Jammu would also help the Governor’s Administration in making punctual all the officers down the line in the hierarchy in the Civil Secretariat.
“The instructions of the Chief Secretary regarding availability of the Administrative Secretaries in the Civil Secretariat have been issued at a time when new concepts are being devised on the directions of the Governor Satya Pal Malik for giving fillip to the development process and ensuring prompt redressal of the public grievances”, sources said.
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